An historic district is a formally designated group of buildings, structures, sites, and spaces that relate to one for historical, architectural, and/or cultural reasons. DC has over 30 residential DC historic districts that are included in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites (designated under the provisions of the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 (D.C. Public Law 2-144) and/or on the federal level in the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.
The Committee of 100 is a member of the DC Historic Districts Coalition, an informal alliance of organizations and individuals representing Washington, D.C.’s historic districts. The Coalition’s focus is on issues of importance to historic districts, with the rationale that the collective strength of a group of neighborhood historic preservation organizations carries greater weight and is more effective in articulating positions and needs than that of single voices from individual neighborhood groups working separately.
The Office of Planning has proposed the most extreme density permitted which may threaten the compatibility standard if HPRB replaces preservation standards and guidelines with OP’s Development Guidelines. The CPHS Design Guidelines will offer the HPRB balancing standards that are contextually true to the Cleveland Park Historic District and are consistent with preservation standards and principles.
The Guidelines fail to address several issues, as the Council has directed. This is a basic flaw that must be corrected prior to submission of the Guidelines for use in any forum.
Testimony before the Council Committee of the Whole Subcommittee on Redistricting re: Bill 24-700, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission Boundaries Act of 2022.
